The Battle Over Queiroz's Contract

UPDATE: Following Iran's match with Bonia-Herzegovina on Wednesday, June 25, Carlos Queiroz announced his resignation as the team's manager. 

Carlos Queiroz wants nothing but the best for the Iranian national team.

“He who leans on a tree and daydreams cannot succeed. He must exert himself,” said Queiroz, when he  took on the job as manager of the Iranian team in 2011.  But, as Pouladi, Gucci and Dejagah prepared for their last three qualifying games for the 2014 World Cup, Queiroz faced widespread criticism and calls for his dismissal. All he wanted was to make sure the team was ready ahead of the competition.

He sat down Ali Kafashian, the head of Iran’s football federation and said, “Why are you so anxious? Are you afraid of these games? I will take care of them. I will get the team to the World Cup. You go and bring in money for football. Don’t worry about a thing!”

Yet Kafashian refused take him seriously, and didn’t come up with the money the team needed.

Queiroz, on the other hand, fulfilled his promise. Iran beat South Korea, securing its place in the World Cup. Finally, after many years, Iran was ranked number one in Asia.

But Queiroz was still bitter. “When we win, everyone wants to take photographs with us.  But people do nothing to help us in our preparations and plans”, he said in an interview. “When we returned to Iran, my assistants and I had only photos in our pockets. I don’t know of anywhere in the world where they accept snapshots as money.”

At that point, he appealed for help directly. “We are going to the World Cup,” he said. “I have presented my plan for performing well in these games. But if people don’t think it’s important to progress from the group stage, then I give up. Whenever I make suggestions it’s assumed I’m looking after my own personal interests. The opposite is true. I have pursued the interests of the national team.”

Yet not long before the World Cup, Queiroz was delivered another blow. Despite the football federation agreeing to renew Queiroz’s contract, Kafashian said was not in a position to pay the coach. “We don’t have the money,” a federation authority told a reporter. ”Look! Queiroz himself has said he wants two million dollars a year. He wants another million dollars for his technical staff, which makes it three million dollars. It is likely that with training camps and other expenses it would come to four million dollars. Over four years the total will be 16 million dollars...The federation does not have this kind of money.”

A Simple Question

The Iranian Football Federation is in a tricky spot. Its president claims it’s an independent body, but, in reality, it’s a government-supported initiative.

Some say that Kafashian believes he can play Queiroz like he played the Iranian Minister of Sports, who over whom he clearly commanded control. But it turned out that Queiroz was a different character altogether.

“When I looked at the FIFA statistics I saw a simple fact,” said Queiroz after the World Cup lottery draw, which assigned teams to eight different groups, placing Iran in Group F. “Over the last 30 years, Iran’s football has followed the same path and it has not progressed. This is not my opinion—it’s what the statistics say. Three times Iran has gone to the World Cup and three times it has returned home after group stage. Now we have a fourth chance. I have a very simple question that needs to be answered. Do we go to Brazil to get into the knockout phase or we go there to return as we did the previous three times?”

Despite all the wrangling, Queiroz made it clear that he was still keen sign a new contract with Iran. After all, he understands Iranian football well and had chosen an ideal lineup. But, even running up to the World Cup, the federation still gave him trouble.

Too Late, Even if the “Goal Bag” Days are Over?

Many Iranians used to mock the Iranian National team, labeling them a “goal bag”. But, after the first game against Nigeria, people across the country began to change their minds.

And, in the second match, against Argentina, even more people began to see that Queiroz deserved their support. Suddenly, the Iranian national team was on international television, alongside huge football celebrities such as Lionel Messi and Angel di Maria. Suddenly, everyone wanted the federation to renew Queiroz’s contract.

Fans took action, launching a “Renew Carlos Queiroz's Contract” petition on Facebook, which attracted tens of thousands of “likes’ in just a few hours.  Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri was inundated with comments on his Facebook page, begging him to renew Queiroz’s contract. There’s a rumor going round that Jahangiri has ordered the Ministry of Sports to report to him on details of the situation and the terms of the contract.

In the meantime, Kafashian continues play dumb, saying his federation’s coffers are empty.

But is it too late? Recent comments from Queiroz are worrying. “In the past 10 months, I have expressed, through words and deeds, that I am proud to stay with Iran and serve Iran,” he said. “But unfortunately, during this time some people have played games with me and shamed me. I would love to remain in Iran but certain people will not allow it. When I return to Iran to say goodbye, I will reveal who these people are.”

In his time as team manager, Queiroz has proved that he’s not one for jokes.  So this could be the end of a dream.

It is rumored that Kafashian has already signed a contract with Hossein Faraki, who until very recently managed Khuzestan’s Foolad team in Iran’s Pro League. Faraki is also the close friend of Hamid Sajjadi, the Deputy Minister of Sports and former professional runner. When Sajjadi and Faraki visit Tehran, they stay in the same hotel.

Yet Queiroz is still determined to fulfill his dream. Iran has never progressed beyond the group stage at the World Cup. If Iran rises to the knockout stage tonight, then Queiroz will be a hero, something akin to Cyrus the Great for Iranians, a brave and intelligent conqueror

But whatever happens, the fault will not lie with him. It lies with institutions that pay no heed to the value of future planning and investment. And because of this, a great opportunity has been closed down.